1954 newspaper ad

[old_tv_nut]

This kind of marketing was very popular in the U.S.
One of the greatest practitioners was Sol Polk, of the Polk Bros. stores in Chicago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Polk

Some of the things he gave away:
A lighted plastic snowman or Santa Claus lawn decoration for Christmas;
A strange stringed instrument dubbed a "Polk-alele";
A Hawaiian pineapple;
A year's supply of Coca-Cola (but you had to come back every week to get another case);
And many other things.

I once got an electric weed trimmer with the purchase of a washer and dryer.

Polk was also the first retailer in the U.S. to discount prices below the maker's list price, the first to do its TV commercials in color, and the first to heavily promote color TV.